I've been blowing through Friday Night Lights as fast as Netflix can ship it to me, and I'm loving it. It's such a well-done show, beautifully shot, amazingly acted and wonderfully written. And it's an almost frighteningly accurate portrait of pretty much exactly what my own high school experience in Texas was like, from the ramshackle ranch-style houses and afternoons at the Alamo Freeze/Dairy Queen to the homecoming mums and simmering undercurrents of racism running through the community.

Because everything's shot on location it all looks incredibly natural and real in a way you don't often get on television. Not to mention the fact that it's fun to pick out locations I recognize around Austin. EZ's, the restaurant where the team hangs out, is close to our old house in Austin and the original location in San Antonio was one of our primary hangouts in college, so every time they shoot a scene there I get all nostalgic.

And even though football is a running theme throughout the show, it's not a show about football. Hell, I hate football, so if I can love this show you know there's more to it. I realized yesterday what the show reminds me of--it's like My So-Called Life set in Texas. It's this incredibly real look at high school life that's so poignant and addictive you can't look away. And like MSCL, it's populated by a cast of vivid, lovable, messed-up characters who make you laugh even as they're breaking your heart.

My only big quibble with the show is the alarming shortage of Mexicans. Our Hispanic population is a huge part of our state's culture, but the only Hispanic character was violent thug who disappeared after a couple of episodes. Not cool, Jason Katims.